One of our guiding principles at Ekklesia is that the people are the church. We desire for those who affiliate with the church to reject the temptation to be consumers of a ministry product, but rather participants in a calling. For this reason, we will not refer to individuals in the church as members, but as Stewards. Membership implies entitlement, and the idea of entitlement is directly oppositional to our Core Value of Sacrifice, among others. Stewardship implies responsibility and participation. If an individual seeks to become a Steward of our church he or she may do so after agreeing to the following conditions:
- Make a personal statement of faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life. (We will not consider “Letters” of membership transferred from other churches as evidence of faith in Christ.)
- Be baptized by immersion in obedience to the command of Jesus and as an outward symbol of their identification as a Christ-follower. Those who have been baptized by immersion in other churches after having made a profession of faith in Christ can fulfill this requirement by making a statement that they have done this.
- Commit to grow as a disciple and disciple others.
- Complete the Discovery Course, when offered by the Elder Team.
- Engage, commit, and participate in a Community Group.
- Give sacrificially, as prompted by the Spirit, of your time, talents, and treasure.
- Participate in Team Ministry, supporting the leadership of the church.
- Respond to conflict biblically, as outlined in Matthew 18, with a heart for reconciliation and restoration.
ONLINE GIVING
Online giving is available for one-time gifts or as a scheduled, recurring contribution. If you haven’t already done so, simply click the appropriate link below and then create an account. You may then give a one-time gift or you may add, edit or delete your scheduled transactions at your convenience online. You may also review your giving history through this same access point.
For those who would like to make a one-time contribution, click here.
For those who would like to set up or make changes to recurring contributions or existing account info, please click here.
Note: Fees incurred while processing eCheck payments are substantially less than those incurred while processing a Visa or MasterCard. If you would like to help us better steward our resources, please choose the eCheck payment option when possible.
Online gifts are secure. Read our policies on online giving here.
Giving Calculator
Click here to access a nifty online Giving Calculator (with figures for adults, students or children). This tool can help you calculate your amount of weekly, monthly or annual giving based on your income and desired percentage.
Giving Principles
Jesus talked more about money than He did prayer, heaven or hell. Why? Because He said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:21) Giving is a heart issue that gets to the core of what we believe and…what we want to become.
We believe giving is an act of worship, as we learn to respond in a very tangible way to the incredible generosity of God. We give out of grateful hearts in recognition that God owns everything, and we are to be faithful stewards of all He entrusts to us.
There are four foundational principles we embrace:
- Because God owns everything, all that we have is a gift. And, because God owns it all, each gift He entrusts to us is ours to enjoy and steward. (1 Chron. 29:14; 1 Cor. 4:1)
- Every believer has a responsibility to support his or her home church financially. (Mal. 3:8-10; 1 Cor. 9:7-12; 1 Tim. 5:17-18)
- Every believer should prayerfully consider the biblical guideline of the tithe (10% of one’s income) as a helpful starting point for learning how to give. (Gen. 14:18-20; Mal. 3:8-10; Matt. 23:23)
- Every believer can give biblically, regardless of income. The amount is not as important as the heart as one gives…regularly, proportionally, generously, sacrificially and cheerfully. (1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 11:29; 2 Cor. 8:1-5; 2 Cor. 9:7)